


Lovesick

by HarryTwinks (AndroidHeaven)



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24209347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndroidHeaven/pseuds/HarryTwinks
Summary: Winksy is sick and tries to hide it but only ends up making it worse. Luckily, Eric is there to help.
Relationships: Eric Dier/Harry Winks
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's me ya boi back with some more COMFORT because that's what I need rn
> 
> I literally got sick while writing this fic, talk about immersion.
> 
> I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP

Harry had not woken up on the right side of the bed that day. He had a massive headache and a runny nose for a while, feeling a bit dizzy every now and then. Luckily when he took some medicine the pain seemed to go away, even though the mild dizziness hung for quite some time. However, Winks didn’t think much of it when he read Eric’s message inviting him to go jogging in a park they sometimes jogged together whenever they felt like they needed to exercise outside the training with fresh air in their lungs. He took one more pill just to be safe, which was probably a mistake since it could make him even dizzier, but he soon got ready and left his house to go meet Eric at the place. 

Eric looked as fine as ever that day, and both the presence and the chit chat of that man had made Harry forget a bit about his wooziness. He didn’t even mention it to Eric as they started jogging, following the trail around the park, appreciating how there weren’t many people doing that as well, the solitude among the trees enough to ease their mind as their bodies sweated. 

After about 10 minutes, Harry was starting to feel unsteady again. He slowed down his pace in attempt to see if it would go away. Eric must have noticed how Winks was having a bit of a hardship to jog properly, yet he didn’t comment on it, instead he just slowed down his pace as well to keep up with him. Winks was barely focusing on the path they were going, trying to calm his breathing to see if it made his head spin less. It was getting out of hand and he knew that he could probably faint at any moment if he didn’t manage to control his breathing better. Still, he kept with his pace to not alert Eric and was even starting to normalize his condition again. What he didn’t expect though, was to lose his balance and embarrassingly trip and fall down right next to Eric, and to make things worse, he had landed on a pile of leaves and tree flowers. At least the fall wasn’t that bad, it was just plain embarrassing. 

“Are you okay?” Eric’s voice pulled him away from his momentary shame. 

Winks could barely get up for a moment, just sat there on the pile as he tried to regain his consciousness. He almost didn’t notice how some of the leaves and tiny flowers were all stuck to his hair, certainly creating some type of stupid imagery to Eric. 

“Yeah... Just tripped on a rock I think.” He sighed painfully but then chuckled, trying to hide his unsteadiness and shame behind a smile like always. He was glad that Eric chuckled along at least. 

Eric helped Winksy up to his feet and then the latter proceeded to check his legs to see if he had injured or scratched himself. 

“So cute.” Eric commented as he stared at Winks’ now messy hair with leaves and flowers sticking out everywhere. 

Harry couldn’t help the blush that washed over his face, looking away embarrassed as he chuckled nervously, the situation making his head swim even further which was not a good thing right now. Eric fiddled with the leaves and flowers on his hair, trying to remove them as he had a perfect view from the top of Harry’s hair because of their height difference. Winks tilted his head down on instinct, letting the man remove the lingering tree flowers and leaves, but then he grew a bit awkward and decided to try removing them by himself as well. Winksy chuckled as he took the remnants off his hair and threw them over Eric’s head, sadly his hair was too short for them to properly get stuck but it was amusing nevertheless, causing both of them to chuckle at his silliness. 

That’s when Harry suddenly felt an immense loss of pressure in his body, feeling as if he was going to pass out for a moment. Eric noticed that and immediately held Harry as the brunet almost fell for a second, Dier’s worried eyes washing over his now pale face. 

“Fuck, Winksy! Are you really feeling okay?” 

Harry slightly shook his head as he managed to regain enough control over his body to at least remain standing without the need for Eric’s arms. 

“Y-yeah... Just dizzy...” 

“You shouldn’t be jogging then.” Eric mildly scolded, knowing how Winks probably hid the fact that he wasn’t feeling well from the start. 

They agreed on how Winks should probably go back home and rest instead of running around if he wasn’t feeling okay, and Eric made sure to at least accompany him to his car that was on the parking lot on other side of the park. 

Unfortunately, on their walk there an event seemed to be happening nearby at the park and soon they encountered a crowd in their way. Winks wasn’t very fond of crowds and surely even less when he was already feeling woozy enough. They had no choice but to go through it though, so Harry tried to not pay it much attention, even because his spinning head wasn’t letting him pay attention to anything. He deeply noticed when they entered the crowd, everyone and everything around him suddenly feeling like a suffocating abyss as he walked trying very hard not to faint when he began feeling weaker. Harry’s eyes couldn’t focus anywhere as he followed Eric through the crowd, trusting the man to find the correct way out since he couldn’t even tell where they were anymore. Everything was starting to become blurry and the sound of constant chattering around seemed to muffle on their way to his eardrums; he could barely tell if he was still walking. 

Eric looked behind him and noticed how Winks wasn’t there. He stopped suddenly as his eyes travelled around the crowd with worry and confusion, wondering where on earth did Harry get himself to. His impatience got the best of him and instead of staying where he was just hoping for Harry to find his way back to him, Eric started to pace around among all the walking people to try locating Winksy. Luckily, it didn’t take too long for him to find a very dazed Winks just standing in the middle of the crowd, looking as if he was completely lost and about to pass out at any moment. Eric quickly made his way towards the man in order not to lose him again from sight, Harry had barely noticed how he got lost, only realising how bad his state was when he saw Eric looking at him with worried eyes. Winksy unconsciously reached for Eric’s hand, not thinking much about his actions and acting more on impulsive need, but soon felt reassured as the man held it back, squeezing it to comfort. It was much easier for them to walk through the crowd like that, this way Harry wouldn’t get himself lost again and Eric could easily hold him if he were to faint. 

They managed to get through the crowd without Harry passing out in the middle of it, although he was barely conscious of what was going on as everything seemed like a surreal dream for a moment. As soon as they escaped the suffocating crowd, Winks was feeling much better already, at least less bad than before. He didn’t usually get bad like this because of crowds, but the combination of it with feeling dizzy certainly did not work out for him. Harry’s consciousness was soon back and the first thing he noticed was how, for some reason, Eric and he were still holding hands. He briefly looked at their joined hands and couldn’t help the faint blush washing over his freckled cheeks. It seemed as if Eric hadn’t noticed how they were still walking around while holding hands without being in the crowd anymore. Although it was a bit embarrassing it wasn’t making Harry uncomfortable, quite the opposite in fact. It was only when they stopped for a moment that Eric took notice of how he was still tightly holding Winksy’s hand, glancing at it before awkwardly moving his own hand away and breaking the skin contact that had been so fulfilling for the past minutes. Harry couldn’t help but immediately miss the touch but knew better than to walk around like that and be seen by unwanted eyes and misunderstood. 

They sat on a bench for a while, waiting for Harry’s condition to get better so at least he could drive himself home. When he was feeling good enough to drive, they hesitantly said their goodbyes and Harry kept telling Eric not to worry about him and that he was going to be better in no time. Eric had offered to drive Winks home several times, but he refused to be this much of a bother to the older man and decided to go by himself, once again reassuring Eric not to worry about him as he entered the car. 

Obviously, Eric kept worrying. The first thing he did once he got home was to text Winksy, asking how he was feeling and if he was still breathing and if he made it home safely. Harry only answered almost an hour later, which in the meantime Eric was trying very hard not to worry about the worst possibilities. Harry texted him saying how he got truly sick after all, feeling worse than before. Dier texted him back saying that he was going to swing by his house, not caring about anything else at the moment. He only read the message from Harry saying how he didn’t want to bother Eric when he was already in the car, ignoring it completely as he drove to Winks’ home. 

As he finally reached Harry’s house, he felt a bit guilty for the fact that he had to make Winks get up to open the door to let him in; he really wanted Winksy to just stay still and let Eric take care of him. Harry sighed with a smile as he kept telling Eric how he didn’t need to have come but the man simply ignored as he guided Winks to go back lying down on his couch to rest since Eric noticed that’s what he was doing. Winks had made a cocoon there, lots of blankets and pillows that safely wrapped around him, keeping him warm and safe. Eric placed his hand over Winksy’s forehead and then down his chin to feel his body temperature. 

“You have a fever, Winksy.” 

“Mhmm...” Winks mildly nodded as he pulled his blanket even closer to his body that was covering him up to his chin. 

Eric pulled the small beanbag that was nearby next to Harry, sitting there as he carefully observed the brunet. His eyes were glossy and he was shivering quite a bit, looking back at Eric painfully like a lost puppy. 

“Did you eat anything?” 

Winks shook his head in response. 

“Did you take any medicine?” 

“Not really.” Winksy answered weakly. “Because I didn’t eat.” 

Eric sighed. “You should eat, Winksy.” 

“But I don’t want to.” He whined in frustration, sounding like a spoiled child. 

“You should at least drink something.” 

Eric got up and went to his kitchen, opening his fridge to retrieve a bottle of water from there, he noticed a small orange juice bottle and decided to take that as well since vitamins are very good for recovery. He made his way back to Winks and gave him the water bottle to drink a bit before placing them on the coffee table nearby. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to try eating something? An apple or anything of the sort?” 

Winksy firmly shook his head, determined on his lack of appetite and not wanting to make an effort to try eating. 

At least Eric managed to make him drink the entire water bottle and then the small juice one. He kept feeling Harry’s forehead every now and then, hoping for the fever to come down but it was probably going to take a while. He started softly petting Winksy’s hair, careful not to pull a single strand of hair by accident and make his already fever-induced sensitive-to-pain body feel any worse. 

“Aw, Winksy. Is there something you want me to do? Can I get you anything?” 

Winks smoothly hid the blush creeping over his face at the cooing by pulling his blanket further up his face until only his eyes were available for Eric to see. He slightly shook his head, his dazed eyes looking away. 

“Do you want to take a hot bath? Maybe that will make you feel better.” 

Harry looked at Eric seeming to consider his offer for a couple of seconds before he decided on an answer. He gave him a small nod in agreement, observing how Eric felt relieved to be able to do something to ease his pain. 

“Okay. I will prepare it for you then.” Eric answered as he got up and made his way to Winksy’s bathroom. 

The fact that Eric was taking care of him and walking around his house as if they lived together for ages was doing unspeakable things to Winksy’s poor heart. Everything felt so natural and common even though that had never happened before. Harry couldn’t help but smile under the blanket as Eric came back letting him know that it was ready. 

Eric carefully helped Winksy out of his blankets cocoon and up to his feet, not letting go of him as they made their way to the bathroom. The bath looked perfect and ready for him, it had some bubbles and Eric had even put his silly rubber duck on the water. Harry wasn’t sure why he got suddenly shy when he started to undress himself as Eric waited patiently for him to do so, they have seen each other naked one billion times already but Winksy couldn’t help but turn around as he removed his clothes. Eric helped Harry into the tub so the man wouldn’t slip or fall due to his unsteadiness, carefully helping him to sit down. 

Harry immediately felt relaxed as the water surrounded his body, it was warm and soothing and it made his body feel painless out of a sudden even though he had started sweating. Eric sat down on the floor that consisted of beautiful white tiles right next to the bathtub, staying there in order to keep an eye on Winksy’s condition. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“Mhm fine.” Winks mumbled. “I guess I feel better already.” 

Eric gave him a small smile in acknowledgement as he started to fiddle with the cyan-blue carpet next to him. 

Several minutes passed after their random chatting that they were engaged on for a while had died down; Eric didn’t want to force Winksy to keep talking if he wasn’t feeling well for it. Dier had spaced out for quite some time, his attention only being drawn back to reality when he heard the water splashing. He immediately focused on the man next to him who was playing with the water happily. Winks was slapping and pushing the water around to create waves for the rubber duck, the plastic toy swimming around the bathtub freely. Eric couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight; Winksy looked so damn cute like a pure cinnamon roll. He watched how Harry got a few of the bubbles on his hand and then blew it over to Eric’s face. Only a few had actually reached him but it had clung to his short beard, causing Winksy to chuckle as he tried to get even more to Eric so that he could look like Santa. Eric chuckled along as he tried to stop his shenanigans, reaching out to hold his moving arms. 

“Hey! Stop moving around so much!” He laughed trying to scold but just couldn’t. 

Suspiciously, Harry did suddenly stop trying to cover Eric with bubbles. However, Eric soon found out it was only so he could escalate his mischief. Winks splashed a considerable amount of water on Eric and didn’t stop until his t-shirt was soaking wet (and the floor now as well), laughing stupidly at how Eric barely managed to hold his wrists in attempt to stop him from doing that. Eric kneeled on the floor so he could have better leverage against the smaller man, causing both to engage in a silly fight of pushing around as Eric tried to stop Winks from splashing more water on him and creating a mess of his bathroom. 

“Not fair! Come on!” Harry protested still laughing euphorically as Eric was easily stopping his movements because of his strength. 

Since Winks couldn’t free himself from Eric’s grasp to splash water on him, he did the first thing that came into his mind that would manage to get Eric soaked. Winksy literally pulled Eric forward, and due to the latter’s kneeling position, he barely had any steadiness to try and stop from falling forward. Eric fell inside the tub with a loud sound of splashing water filling the bathroom as he got completely soaked, but worst of all, he had fallen right on top of Winksy. 

Suddenly everything went to a complete silence. No one was moving anymore and the water had stilled; they just kept staring at each other. They were so close, faces mere inches apart. 

“Whoops...” Harry was the first to break the silence, his voice ironical as he grinned trying to look collected, but it still came out nervously. 

“You!” Eric breathed angrily but was actually smiling again. “How am I supposed to go back like this now?” 

“It’s fine, you were already going to sleep here anyway.” 

“Oh yeah? And when did we agree on that?” Eric scoffed playfully, loving how Harry was truly feeling much better already if he was creating chaos in the bathroom. 

“You wouldn’t leave poor little sick me all alone at night and let me die, would you?” Winks whined and pouted before coughing dramatically. 

Eric couldn’t help but splash water on Winksy’s face when he grinned deviously at the older man. 

“You don’t seem sick to me.” 

“No, I am! I’m dying, Eric!” Winks started pretending to cough dramatically again. 

Eric shook his head as they chuckled at Harry’s silliness. Nonetheless, he was still a bit worried because Winksy was indeed still sick and he could see how his temperature wasn’t much better and his eyes were still a bit glossy; besides, their little chaos was surely going to make things worse again. 

“Come on, you had enough chaotic fun for a sick person.” 

Eric managed to untangle themselves in the bathtub before he stepped out and helped Harry up. He got Winks his towel and then proceeded to removing his own soaked wet t-shirt in order not to drip water around his floor but kept the shorts on, and luckily, he had removed his shoes earlier. Harry wrapped the towel around himself before grabbing one for Eric to use as they went to Winksy’s bedroom. He got himself changed and then fiddled around with his clothes to find something that would manage to fit Eric. Harry found a long-sleeved t-shirt that still got a bit tight on Eric’s shoulders and sweatpants that were also a little tight around his waist, but it was good enough. 

“You should lie down again.” Eric commented as he noticed how Winksy’s humour was starting to falter again, clearly not feeling good standing up for too long. 

Winks nodded but his unsteadiness got the best of him as he almost fell down after taking a single step. Eric immediately came to the rescue and took him in his arms, literally picking him up and carrying him to his bed, causing Winks to shiver but not because of the sickness this time. Eric tucked him in and felt his forehead again to see if his fever was getting worse or better. 

“Your fever has gone down a bit at least. Do you want me to go get you some water? Or do you want to eat now?” 

Harry simply shook his head, raising the sheets up to his nose like earlier until only his eyes were available for Eric to see. He tugged on Eric’s shirt and looked at him with those dazed eyes. 

“What is it?” Eric carefully asked.

Winks looked away but kept lightly tugging on Eric’s t-shirt nonstop, almost starting to pull the man down with the action. It didn’t take long for Eric to figure it out but wanted to confirm his suspicion. 

“Do you want me to lie down with you?” 

Harry slightly nodded as he still kept avoiding eye contact, raising the blanket even further up, almost covering his entire face. 

Eric had to calm himself down not to let his heart melt at the situation. He carefully lied down right next to Winksy, loving how he turned around so they were face to face before snuggling in closer to bury his face on Eric’s neck. Eric hesitantly wrapped his arms around Winks but held him properly when Winksy had sighed happily against his skin. Although Winks’ body temperature was higher than his, it was somehow still extremely comforting to have him in his arms like that. Eric couldn’t help but start petting the man again, one of his hands softly caressing his hair while the other gently caressed his back. 

They stayed that way in a complete comfortable silence for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s body warmth in a way they never imagined it could be this comforting. Eric could feel how Winks had stopped his shivering that had increased a bit so he was probably starting to feel better. Dier didn’t think much of it when he pressed a kiss to Winksy’ head, noticing how his breath hitched against his neck but held onto Eric tighter. Everything was so sweet and Eric simply couldn’t help himself. He slowly tilted Winksy’s head up until they were looking at each other, faces mere inches apart. He could clearly see those glossy eyes looking at him as if he was trapped in a momentary haze, and although Eric wasn’t sick, he wasn’t too far from that same feeling. 

Eric closed the small distance between their faces, reaching those soft pink lips with his own, kissing them softly and sweetly. He felt Harry press back to his lips for a second before he was suddenly shoved away as the brunet looked at him with wide eyes. Eric internally panicked for a second as he realised that he might have fucked up. 

“You’re going to get sick!” 

Eric couldn’t help but smile as he felt immediately relieved that this was Winksy’s worry and not that he didn’t like kissing him. 

“I don’t care.” 

Eric carefully said as he broke the distance once again, pressing their lips together more confidently this time, both melting into each other’s kiss as they poured their hearts into it. 

When they broke the kiss, Winksy managed to somehow look even more dazed than before, his eyes full of unspoken soft words, just like Eric’s. 

“W-well, I’m not going to take care of you if you do! You brought it on yourself.” 

That was a blatant lie and they both knew that. There was no way Harry wouldn’t play nurse to take care of Eric if he did end up getting sick as well so Dier couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“You should sleep, Winksy.” 

Winksy slightly nodded, pressing himself even closer to Eric as his eyes went shy and worried for a second, holding Eric the closest he could. 

“Don’t worry. I will be here when you wake up.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dier truly ended up getting sick after all. Now it’s Winks’ turn to help him. Or at least try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yall, this is basically Winksy being a complete disaster and the clumsy baby that he is.

It turned out that Eric did wind up getting sick after all. 

He wasn’t sure if it was because of their kissing that day when Winks was the one sick or if it was just a coincidence. Either way, Eric was feeling terrible. He was too dizzy and woozy to even walk, thus he simply decided to stay in his bed and hope that he doesn’t starve to death or die of thirst since he couldn’t get up to fetch something to eat or drink. Dier always had a better immune system and physique than many, usually whenever he got sick, he’d cough once and then would already feel cured, unlike Harry who was a bit feeble compared to him. Yet for some reason, this time Eric was feeling just as bad as Winks had been last week. He knows for a fact that it wasn’t anything too serious, it’s just something that happens from time to time to anyone, and Harry felt better a couple of days later so he knows that he would be too. 

Eric was lying in bed doing absolutely nothing, he wanted to be fiddling with his phone, but the dim light of the screen would hurt his eyes at that moment. It was a rare sunny day too, the perfect weather to be at the beach if he wasn’t feeling unwell, thus he had to leave the curtains of his bedroom closed for the sunlight not to reach his eyes, making him look like he was a miserable animal hiding in a cave, curled up in his cocoon of blankets. 

He heard a familiar notification sound coming from his phone that was laying on his nightstand, realising how it was the custom ping he set for Winks’ messages. Eric made his best effort to reach towards his phone to check the content, squinting his eyes when the screen light reached his brain painfully. Harry was asking if he wanted to hang out at his house or go to the beach, adding a few heart and hugging emojis at the end of his text because that man simply loved using those cute emojis that represent him so well. Eric smiled upon reading the message although a bit sadly, knowing how he would need to turn down his invitation due to his sickness. 

_E: I’d love to, but I’m feeling a bit sick today._

_H: How sick?_

_H: What are you feeling?_

_H: Did you end up getting sick because of me after all?_

_H: What did I tell you?_

_H: I told you so :(_

Eric chuckled at his desperation, trying to come up with a way of saying that he couldn’t even properly get out of bed in a way that it doesn’t make Harry think that he’s dying. 

_E: Don’t worry, I’m okay. Just need to stay in bed today then I’ll go see you when I’m better._

_H: No, you’re seeing me today. I’m coming over._

_E: There’s no need for that. It’s not that bad, Winksy._

_H: I’ll be there soon._

He sighed. That man was stubborn as always. Then again, it’s not like Eric was any better. When Harry was the one queasy that other day, Dier also invaded his house to take care of him. Besides, it’s not like he was really complaining about him coming over, he just doesn’t want Harry to waste time getting bothered with him and instead go do something more fun by himself in this sunny day off. 

Harry truly didn’t take long to arrive, and that made Eric worriedly wonder if he drove safely to his house for a second. Eric had to get up to open the door for Winks, wishing that the younger man had the keys to his house and realising how that wouldn't be a bad idea. The moment he opened the door Winks entered in a hurry asking him one million questions about how he was feeling. Eric repeated that he was fine as Harry guided him back to his bed, probably realising how the blond was not as fine as he was saying. 

Honestly, Eric truly felt his legs growing weak for a second yet still tried his best to hold himself up as Winks would not be able to hold him up by himself despite being stronger than he looks. They managed to reach for his bedroom without anything happening and Harry was quick to help him lie down on his comfy bed, back to his cocoon of blankets and pillows and tuck him in. Winks looked at him with painful and worried eyes as he sat on the edge of the bed, right next to Eric, and felt his body temperature with the back of his hand on his forehead. 

“You have a fever... And you’re feeling really weak, right?” 

“Yeah, but it’s not that bad.” 

“So it is my fault.” Harry commented sadly, knowing for a fact that he was the one who passed this virus to him. 

“Technically, it’s _my_ fault.” Eric chuckled hoarsely in answer. “You even said it yourself that it was on me.” 

Winks seemed to ponder about it for a second but still didn’t look happy with the conclusion. 

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter how I got it. I’ll be fine soon, it’s not like this is anything serious.” Eric continued as he noticed the uneasiness on Harry’s face. 

“...Can I do anything to help?” 

Harry had asked so carefully yet so hopefully that Eric had to think of something. He doesn’t want Winks to feel helpless, therefore he thought about anything that would keep him entertained. 

“Mhmm, I’m a bit peckish.” 

“Okay! I’ll cook you something!” Winks happily stated before the light in his eyes suddenly faltered. “Wait... What would be good for you?” 

“Uhm, I think soup is the best option. Do you know how to make it?” 

“O-Of course I do!” Harry answered defensively, seeming slightly offended by the fact that Eric would think he didn’t know how to make something so basic. 

Eric nodded in acknowledgement in response before watching Harry get up and head over to his kitchen excitedly. 

He waited for a good while, more than it usually takes to make a simple soup, and he heard quite a few clattering sounds coming from his kitchen as well; He worried for a second if his plates and pans were still in pristine condition. Eric was starting to doze off when Harry was suddenly back in his room holding a soup plate and a spoon. He carefully sat back on the edge of the bed as Eric shifted to be half sitting so that he could eat and then waited. Harry seemed like he wanted to feed him, which Eric didn’t find it a bad idea at all considering how he didn’t even feel like lifting his arms to grab the spoon. 

Harry dipped the spoon in the soup and carefully blew on the hot content. Amazingly, he managed to blow on it a bit too strongly which caused the bit of soup to fall on Eric’s chest. Harry quickly apologised as Eric flinched with the sudden hotness but was glad that it fell on his t-shirt and not on his skin. Then Winks proceeded to take another spoonful of the soup to guide it to his mouth and Eric gladly accepted it. However, he soon hissed in pain as he felt his tongue burn because Winks forgot to cool that bit of soup. 

“Oh, shit! Sorry, did I burn you?” 

“No, no. It’s okay.” Eric answered as he felt his mouth burning profoundly and wanting to scream in pain. “Just... Be a bit more careful.” 

“O-Okay, I will.” 

Harry did end up being more careful. He would properly let the liquid cool a bit before guiding the spoon to Eric’s mouth, not burning his tongue and lips anymore in the process. Yet there was another issue. The soup tasted absolutely terrible. Eric didn’t know a soup could taste this badly, moreover it wasn’t just the flavour but also the thickness of it. He let Harry feed him for a while before telling him that he wasn’t feeling like eating anymore because he was feeling full already. 

“...Does it taste that bad?” 

Winks was quick to pick up on that. He knows there’s no way half of a soup would make Eric feel full. Even if he wasn’t feeling hungry, that man loves to eat too much. 

“...No. It’s just different.” Eric tried to be honest and gentle at the same time. “I-It must be my palate since I’m feeling sick, you know?” 

He gave Harry a small smile once he noticed how the brunet looked miserable for failing to make a simple soup. 

“Uhm, you know what I could do with right now? A cup of tea.” Eric was quick to come up with something that would keep Harry feeling helpful. 

“I-I can do that!” 

Eric watched Winks hurriedly make his way towards his kitchen again, taking the soup away with him to probably throw it out the window before he prepares him some tea. 

He patiently waited, feeling himself starting to doze off after a while again as Harry took his time. Eric was about to fall asleep when Harry returned with a cup of tea in his hands this time and sat next to him on the edge of the bed once more. Winks delivered the cup to his hands and Eric thanked him as he proceeded to guide the beverage to his mouth after blowing on the liquid to avoid burning his tongue again. 

Amazingly, the tea tasted just as terrible. Eric has absolutely no idea how a tea can taste awful, regardless of the chosen flavour. This was ridiculous. How on earth did Harry manage to do that? 

“Is it... Is it bad?” 

Harry probably noticed how Eric couldn’t hide his slight cringe as he kept drinking the tea. 

“No, no. It’s... Terrific.” Eric answered painfully then noticed how Winks wasn’t buying it. “Okay, maybe terrible.” 

He heard how Winks whined pitifully, the brunet realising how he was an awful nurse. 

“You know what? I feel really thirsty, could you get me a glass of water?” 

There is no way Winks could fail water for heaven’s sake. That was the last task Eric had in his mind to try to cheer him up. Harry nodded as he looked keen to redeem himself and quickly made his way to the kitchen to get what he was asked for. 

Eric set the cup of terrible ‘tea’ (if you could even call that substance that) on the nightstand on his side and waited for Winks to arrive. Reasonably, this time Harry didn’t take long to return. He reappeared with a large glass of water and hurriedly made his way back to Eric, sitting next to him yet again. However, since his movements were hurried and nervous with the feeling of being desperate to do something right, Winks managed to clumsily let go of the glass when he was trying to deliver it to Eric’s hands, spilling the liquid all over Eric’s clothes. 

“O-Oh god, Eric. I’m so sorry!” Harry gasped as he quickly tried to fix his mistake. “L-Let me dry you.” 

Dier had flinched upon the sensation of the cold water over his body that damped his clothes rather uncomfortably and slightly painfully. Apparently, Harry truly couldn’t even deliver him a glass of water. He removed his wet t-shirt and threw it away before Winks could do something worse as he tried to dry Eric with his own t-shirt. 

“I’m sorry, I just—” 

“Just come here, let me hold you.” 

Eric requested in order to try stopping Winks from any more disastrous actions. Having Harry still and motionless in his arms would probably be the best solution. If anyone was there to see how disastrous this was all being, they would notice how much Eric must love Harry to keep all that patience. 

Harry was pitifully making his way to Eric’s open arms, feeling absolutely saddened and guilty for how much of a failure he managed to be, when suddenly he managed to hit his knee on Eric’s balls. Dier hissed in pain yet again, stopping himself from cursing because despite the annoyance of the pain he didn’t want to make Winks feel even worse about being a disaster. 

“I-I’m really sorry, Eric.” 

Harry seemed like he was going to cry for a moment as he held back to Eric when they managed to properly hug each other on the bed, without any balls being hit in the process. 

“If aren't you a clumsy baby?” He chuckled as the embrace distracted him from the previous disasters, overriding his mind with something not painful. Besides, he knows how Winks was trying his best there to please him. 

“I made everything worse.” Winks commented with a small voice, holding impossibly tightly onto Dier. “I shouldn’t have come, I’m sorry.” 

If Eric was to earn a dime each time Harry said the word ‘sorry’ today, he would be richer. In the end, he is the one having to comfort Winks again despite being the sick one this time. 

Yet somehow, that felt like it was the best remedy. 

“I’m really glad you did, Winksy.” 

Eric’s words were honest and wholehearted, and Harry realised that. Despite being the disaster that he managed to be in his small tasks, Winks had managed to distract and, in a way, entertain Eric from his sickness. All that pain had even given him more strength, causing Eric to manage to return Harry’s tight embrace just as strongly. He placed a small kiss to Harry’s lips to comfort the brunet as he caressed his back and hair, letting him know how much his efforts were appreciated despite their outcome. 

Winks was really successful in keeping him company and giving him love, and that was more than enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you all


End file.
